Continuous resistance type exercising device



United States Patent 72] Inventor Richard S. Latta Trumansburg, New York(1 Cathy Place, Succasunna, NJ 07876) [21] Appl. No. 663,015

[22] Filed Aug. 24, 1967 [45] Patented Dec. 1, 1970 [54] CONTINUOUSRESISTANCE TYPE EXERCISING 3,186,231 6/1965 Sexeetal.

Primary Examiner Delbert B. Lowe Attorney-Raymond N. Matson ABSTRACT: Aportable support or housing including a reeled rope having an outer endpassed about a smooth fixed cylinder to furnish continuous and variableresistance to the rope-unreeling pull on its end by a user standing onor adjacent the support or housing which includes variablerope-tensioning means and reel-braking means to also enable use of thedevice for isometric exercies, the tensioning means being a memberhaving a curved surface conforming to the curvature of the rope, saidmember being movable toward and away from the rope by movement of amounting block having a vernier adjusting means.

Patented Dec. 1,1970- 3,544,105

Shoot 1 o t 2 Richard 8. mm

Patented 'Dec. 1,1970 I 3,544,105

INVENT OR Richard S. Lotto /m/m his PATENT AGE/VT CONTINUOUS RESISTANCETYPE EXERGISlNG-DEVIGII' This invention relates generally to physicalfitness apparatus and more particularly to an exercising deviceof thecontinttous resistance type which may also be used forisometric-exercises.

While isotonic and isometric exercising devices-are'relatively wellknown, exercising devices of t the continuous resistance type are not,although the advantages of the latterare" now beginning to be regardedwith great favor'asbeing superiorirr.

the exercising of the various muscles of the human body.

Accordingly, the main object of the presenttinventioneis to provide animproved exercising device which enables thesper formance of bothisotonic exercises with continuous re-- sistance and isometricexercises.

An important object of the present invention-is toprovideaportablesupport or housingincluding'a reeled rope'having an; outer end passedabout a smooth cylinder tofurnishcontinuous resistance to arope-unreeling pull onsits end by'a-user' standing on the housingwhichincludes variable rope-"retard!- ing means to also enable the user of'thedevice tovary the amount of resistance as desired, andrope-brakingmeans to enable the use of the device for isometric exercises.-

Another important object of the present inventioniisto pro-- vide animproved exercising device ofthe type described? wherein the continuousresistance maybe-varied by the number of turns of the rope about thesmooth cylinder (as long as there is some resistance on the remoteendiof'the:

FIG. 1 is a horizontal sectional view of 'a preferred form'off theinvention;

FIG. 2 is a front elevational view thereof;

FIG. 3 is a transverse sectional view thereof taken on the line 3-3 ofFIG. I;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary perspective view thereofshowing.

the vernier cam and slide in the zero rope tension position;

FIG. 5 is an elevational view to an enlarged scale of the slide spooland its ratchet;

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary plan view of the cam, slide and spool in themaximum rope tension position;

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary perspective view similar to FIG". 4' but showingthe vernier cam slide in the maximum ropetension position and thebraking bar in the applied'position;

FIG. 8 is a view similar to FIG. 6 butshowing'thebraking bar in theapplied position; and

FIG. 9 is a fragmentary vertical sectional viewshowing the braking barin the at rest position as in FIG. 4.

Referring to the drawings, the exercising: device comprisesa' generallyrectangular housing, although it may be of other configuration, havingtop and bottom members I8 and I9, side members 22 and 23,intermediate,transverse, reinforcing members 24 and 25, and frontwall'26, having-a r'ecessedportion 27 so to enable the reinforcing wallmembers 24 and to receive the ends 28 of the shaft 29 of the smoothcylinder 32'. The housing may be formed of wood, metal or strongplastic. While the cylinder may be nonrotatably fixed by its shaft ends"in its support, the cylinder 32 has a ratchet wheel 33 fixed to one endthereof and its shaft 29 is rotatably mounted in the wall members 24 and25. A pawl 34- is mounted on the front wall portion 27 over the ratchet33 and is spring-loaded so as to bear thereagainst.

A reel 36 is rotatably mounted in the housing about a fixed shaft 37 andresiliently resists counterclockwise rotation by means of a torsionspring 38 which applies tension to the reel and hence to the inner endof an inelastic, flexible connecter 39 such as a rope. The inner end ofthe rope is fastened to the reel and the rope is coiled thereabout andpassed through an aperture 42 in the wall 27 where at least a part ofone turn is taken about the smooth surface of the cylinder'32, afterwhich the rope terminates in a handle.

Itiis readilydemonsttablethat .a pull on one end of a rope having fromat leasta partof one turn to a plurality of turns about a cylinder willreadily remove the rope therefrom unless a tension of some degree isplaced on the other end of the rope. In such event; the withdrawal ofthe rope will become more difficult in direct proportion to the numberof turns about the cylinder and be, to an. even greater degree,proportional to the amountof tension placed 'on the end of the rope.Such continuing resistanceto being: pulled from the cylinder, whenemployed, has been determined to be highly effective in the developmentand conditioning of many. human muscles.

In use,.the.operator'standsonthe housing top-18 and pulls atza steadyrate on the handle soasto rotate the reel 36 againstitsspring..38zandlwithdrawthe rope 39"through the aperture 42 'andaboutthe. cylind'er.-32; the rope passing around the cylinder in acounterclockwise direction asseen in FIG. 3.

Inithis mannentheropeis in sliding frictional engagementwith-thecylinder whereby the operator must exert a certain amount offorce and thereby exercise various muscles of the body. inpullingtheropethrough-the device and around the cylinder.-The" resistance. to such,unreeling pull is variable directly inaccordance with; the number ofturns of the rope about thecylinder 32' withzthe tensiononthe remote endof the rope beingyl'ield'irelatively constant by the torsion spring.

ksiszapparentafrom FIG; I, the'cylinder is held againstcountercIockwise'rotation by theengagement of. the pawl 34withtheperiphery ofiratchet33.

The-rope 39'-,is-unreeled to the desiredextent by the operator in: hisexercise. who thenpermits the reeling of the rope backv fromthe-cylinder 32 upon the reel 36 under the action of the.spring',.whichis permitted in thisdirection by the pawl 34, and this cycle. isrepeated adesired number of times to develop and condition'the humanmuscles by the continuous resistance afforded by thezdevice described.The. one-way rotation of the cylinder provides-forthe rapid andconvenient return of the rope to the starting position'for eachrepetitionof the exercise and also provides forbetter alinement of therope as it turns withthecylinder.

An important feature of the invention resides in its capacity for. readyconversion to use for the performance of isometric exercises and in alsobeing able to vary the resistance to pull of therope by-brakemeans inaddition to varying the number of turns of the rope about the cylinder.

An important feature ofthe invention resides in providing very simplevernier control means for varying the restraining tensiononthe rope39from a minimum to a maximum in an infinite number of increments.

As shown, a U-shaped guide block 86 having spaced transversely extendingguide legs 88 for the reception therebetweenof a slide 90",is mounted onthe bottom wall 19 of the housing against the recessed front wall 27,and has a cam 92 keyed to a rotatable shaft 94=. The cam has a controlbutton196 projecting through an opening in the top 18 of the housing andis provided with a flange 97- which bears against the top portiondefining the opening while the cam 92 bears against the guide block 86under the action of a spring 98 to provide sufficient friction so as toprevent accidental turning of the cam. 92 by the pressure of aslide-mounted pin 100 against the cam surface.

A pair of fixed (or rotatable, if desired) rope guide pins 102 are fixedto the outer portions of the guide legs 88 and direct the rope 39directly to the opening 42 leading to the cylinder 32 as shown in FIG.I. The opposite side of the rope urges the slide 90 to the left orminimum rope tension position against the guide block 86 by its tensionand tangential engagement with the convergent surfaces 104 of arotatably mounted spool 106 on the slide 90. The spool is freely rotatedclockwise upon retraction of the rope 39 during use of the device inexercising but is prevented from rotating counterclockwise by a pivotedpawl I08 engaging a ratchet 110 fixed to or integral with the undersideof the spool under the action of a spring I 12 fixed to the slide 90 asat 114 (FIG. 9).

It will be appreciated that as the cam 92, which is designed so as toprovide a constant change in radius for each degree of are of itsperiphery, is manually rotated counterclockwise from the zero ropetension position shown in FIGS. 1 and 4 to increase the tension on therope 39, its increasing radius will cause its edge surface to act on thepin 100 to move the slide 90 and spool 106 to the right against the rope39. The spool 106 thus puts the rope under tension and more of theperiphery of the spool is engaged by the rope which is forced moretightly against the tapered spool surfaces 104. The control button 96 isthus a vernier control of the tension in the rope 39 ranging from thezero tension position shown in FIGS. 1 and 4 by an infinite number ofadjustments of the vernier control button 96 to the maximum tensionposition shown in FIGS. 6 to 9. In the latter position, of course, therope 39 is forced to pass through or between a greater periphery of thetapered edges 104 of the spool 106 to thus provide a simple,

effective means of varying the rope tension or resistance according tothe requirements of the user.

A further feature of the invention which adapts it for use for isometricexercises is shown in FIGS. 4 and 7 to 9 and comprises a U-shapedrope-braking bar having legs 116 pivoted as at 118 over the guides 88 toa block 120 fixed to the wall member 24. The base portion 122 of thebraking bar is offset upwardly so as to clear the spool 106 and has afoot-operated pedal 124 fixed thereto which projects just above thehousing top 18 (FIGS. 2, 3 and 7). The braking bar is maintained in theat rest nonbraking position with the legs 116 just above the rope 39(FIGS. 4 and 9) by a tension spring 126.

The operation of the preferred forms of the invention is believed to beapparent. Regardless of the number of turns of the rope 39 about thecylinder 32, the vernier cam 'control button 96 provides a simpleeffective means of increasing the tension of or the resistance of therope to unreeling by an infinite number of increments. At the zeroposition of adjustment or minimum radius of the cam 92 (FIGS. 1 and 4),the spool 106 (and its supporting slide 90) are in such a position tothe left as shown as to allow free, frictionally unencumbered rewindingof the rope 39 on the reel 36 which rewinding is guided by the aperture42, the convergent faces 104 of the clockwise rotatable spool 106 andthe guides 102 while being confined from above by the braking bar legs116.

If the vernier cam 92 is turned counterclockwise by'its button 96, itsincreasing radius acts against the slide pin 100 to move the slide 90and the spool 106 to the right forcing the rope, as it is withdrawn orextended for and exercise, farther between the convergent peripheralfaces of the spool, which does not rotate counterclockwise, being heldby the pawl and ratchet 108, 110. If the cam is turned further, thespool is forced further to the right and a greater length of ropeengages the convergent peripheral spool faces 104 to further increase ithe tension or resistance to unreeling of the rope 39.

As disclosed, the device is designed so that the amount of ropetensionor resistance that can be added to any selected number of rope turnsabout the smooth cylinder 32 by the maximum tension position to theright of the spool, is greater than that which is provided by addinganother turn of rope around the cylinder, and varies from a few ouncesto hundreds of pound feet.

When isometric exercising is desired, the user pulls out the rope to thedesired extend and steps on the brake-operating pedal 124 to clamp therope 39 on opposite sides of the spool 106 to the upper sides of theslide guide legs 88 just inside of the rope guide pins 102 (FIGS. 7 and8). Upon completion of the exercising, the pedal is released and thebraking bar and its legs 116 are returned to the at rest position ofFIGS. 4 and 9 by the tension spring 126.

I claim:

1. An exercising device comprising, in combination, a support; a smoothcylinder mounted on said support; means preventing rotation of saidcylinder in one direction upon a pull of rope thereabout; a ropeincluding an end to be pulled on; said rope being wound about saidcylinder to an extent within a range between a part of one turn and aplurality of turns; and springhretarded reel means mounted on saidsupport for applying to e other end of said rope a unlform, continuousresistance to, while permitting, the pulling of a length of said ropeabout said smooth cylinder cylinder while stationary in the direction ofpull for exercising purposes; and means for varying said resistancecomprising a member having a frictional surface mounted on said supportfor movement transversely against an intermediate portion of said rope;said frictional surface being arcuate in the direction of movement ofsaid rope whereby said resistance varies in accordance with the amountof said surface moved into contact with said rope.

2. The exercising device recited in claim 1; and vernier means mountedon said support and operable to move said member to control the amountof surface in contact with said rope.

3. The exercising device recited in claim 1 wherein said member ismounted on a slide on said support; and vernier means mounted on saidsupport for controlling the amount of movement of said slide.

4. The exercising device recited in claim 3 wherein said vernier meanscomprises a cam acting against said slide; and means tending to maintainsaid rope straight except for the portion engaging said surface.

